Case Reports

A man charged with a number of contraventions of the Road Traffic Act 1988, including drink-driving and driving while disqualified, has failed in a bid to have the case against him dismissed over the delay in bringing him to trial. The Criminal Appeal Court upheld a sheriff’s decision to refuse th

The Christian directors of a bakery “unlawfully discriminated” against a gay man in refusing to accept his order for a “Bert and Ernie” cake bearing a caption supporting same-sex marriage. A judge at Belfast County Court held that the Ashers Bakery, run by husband and wife Colin McArthur and

A prisoner who claimed the restraint used by security officers to take him from jail to attend hospital appointments was “disproportionate” is to be awarded damages after a sheriff ruled the inmate’s human rights had been breached. The pursuer James McDowall argued that the absence of an “in

A company whose application for planning permission to develop a windfarm was refused has failed in an appeal against that decision. Judges in the Inner House of the Court of Session ruled that there was “no question of any illegality or procedural impropriety such as would justify quashing the de

The Criminal Appeal Court has issued an opinion clarifying the circumstances in which a sheriff can decline to accept the basis of a plea in mitigation in the absence of proof. The Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Carloway, sitting with Lord Malcolm, heard that in January 2015 at Inverness Sheriff Court, th

A prison officer who was injured while taking part in a riot training exercise has had an action for damages refused. A sheriff ruled that the pursuer failed to prove that the accident was caused to any extent by a breach by the defenders of any statutory obligation incumbent on them, or by fault on

NHS 24 is suing a software company following a contractual dispute over the terms of an agreement to install a new computerised system for handling calls. A judge in the Court of Session allowed the Scottish medical advice service a proof before answer in its dispute with Capgemini UK Plc over two k

A schoolboy who was hit by a bus while “larking about” with friends on the pavement as the vehicle approached a stop has been awarded damages of £8,000. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the driver was “negligent” because he had seen the boys as he approached and was “too close�

A man who sued the fire service after he was injured when ice and guttering fell from the roof of a neighbour’s house as he was walking home has had his damages action dismissed by a judge in the Court of Session. Lord McEwan held that that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, which had been work

A Scotch whisky producer has won an appeal to register the words “Jura Origin” as a trade mark in respect of whiskies produced in Scotland. A judge in the High Court in London upheld an appeal by Glasgow-based Whyte and Mackay, after a hearing officer had earlier refused the application followin

A father whose attempt to secure parental rights and responsibilities together with contact with his child was refused by a sheriff has failed in appeal despite claiming that the 10 months which passed between the case being taken to avizandum and the judgement being issued meant that the decision w

A Glasgow man who is facing extradition to the United States to face $2.7 million fraud charges has had an application to recover all correspondence relating to his case between the Scottish Ministers’ Civil Recovery Unit and the US prosecution authorities refused. A sheriff ruled that it was neit

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has unanimously ruled that a court in the Republic of Macedonia violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) article 6 right to a fair trial of a judge whom it dismissed from office on the grounds of professional misconduct after another judge ac

The UK Supreme Court has ordered the UK government to deal with the country's air pollution problem and publish a report on it by the end of this year. Air pollution in the UK has contravened EU limits for years and has been linked to thousands of deaths.

The Home Secretary has successfully challenged a Scottish judge’s decision that her refusal of a Pakistani national’s application for leave to remain in the UK was unlawful. The Lord Ordinary held that a rejection letter by the Secretary of State failed to consider whether refusal of leave to re